On April 25, 2010, I uploaded a video to YouTube as my entry into the Diabetes Mine Design Challenge. My concept: A blood glucose meter that used WIFI or cellular service to send a message to caregivers alerting them of their child’s blood sugar reading.

My Diabetes Mine Design Challenge entry:

If you watch the Telcare video for this new meter, at about the 3:00 minute mark, you see that it acts very much like the meter I described.

Telcare‘s product video:

I haven’t seen this meter in action, but there was an article in the Wall Street Journal, Diabetic Tester That Talks to iPhones and Doctors by Walt Mossberg, this weekend describing his experience with it.

Mossberg says “Despite some drawbacks, including a high price, I recommend the Telcare be considered by diabetics who want a better substitute for paper logs, or would benefit from real-time sharing of their readings.”

Mossberg’s Video:

(E-mail and feed subscribers click over for embedded videos.)

Kerri of Six Until Me also wrote her initial thoughts on the meter, Checking Out Telcare.

I’m interested to see this meter in action. A meter that gives the option of wirelessly sending BG readings to a caregiver would be useful in school, sports, or play date situations.

We use a very bare bones paper logbook mostly because I haven’t found a good way to download meter data in a meaningful (to me) way. I would love to see data automatically pop on on my iPhone or iPad.

For me I need an easy to use meter (that my seven-year-old can operate without help), that gives few errors (especially because a seven-year-old is a moving target), good accuracy, and great insurance coverage. I’m keeping my eye on this product. And you know what they say: innovation drives competition.

Can you believe how many diabetes products have had announcements since the beginning of the year? (See links below.)

What do you think? Would it be useful to get an alert when your child tests her blood sugar?

Further Reading

I’m a Mac, Diabetes is a PC

{D-Product Alert} Butterfly Strips FDA Approved for OmniPod…Finally!

{D-Product Alert} Blood Sugar Sensing Contact Lenses

{D-Product Alert} Medtronic mySentry

{D-Product Alert} Telcare Meter is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

Mac-compatibility remains an issue for many of us trying to manage diabetes.

What I would really like is for the Abbott CoPilot software to be Mac-compatible. I’m happy with the FreeStyle strips and meters because they are very easy for Q to use, just incredibly unhappy that I can’t get the data off the meter!

I thought you might find this press release interesting. iBGStar has received FDA clearance.

iBGStar™ Blood Glucose Monitoring System Receives U.S. FDA 510(k) Clearance

(Here’s a portion of the press release:)

December 7, 2011 – Sanofi U.S., together with its partner AgaMatrix, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) premarket clearance for the iBGStar™ Blood Glucose Monitoring System, the first and only FDA cleared blood glucose meter that directly connects to the Apple® iPhone® and iPod touch®, seamlessly integrating accurate blood glucose monitoring into the lifestyles of people with diabetes. The iBGStar™ is already available in Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Italy.

The compact iBGStar™ glucose meter, when plugged directly into the iPhone® or iPod® touch, quickly displays results immediately after testing on the full-color touch screen via the iBGStar™ Diabetes Manager App. iBGStar™ also can be used alone to measure blood glucose levels and results can be synchronized to an iPhone® or iPod® touch at a later time.

Further Reading

I’m a Mac, Diabetes is a PC

iBGStar: Marrying iPhones and Meters

iBGStar website

You can read the entire press release on Sanofi’s website.

iBGStar Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

When Q was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes over 3 years ago, we began using the frog log book in the hospital to jot down her blood sugars, carbs, and insulin. Log books are helpful, particularly when a child is in someone else’s care, because you can see at a glance what the BG’s for the day were.

We filled a couple of frog log books before we began using an insulin pump. But after pumping for a while, we got a little lazy and stopped writing in the frog log.

Over time I developed an Excel spreadsheet where I could enter her BG’s and it would give me averages by time of day and for the month. When we were using the log book, I could (somewhat) quickly enter in the numbers into Excel. But with the pump, I had to scroll through, day by day, and jot the numbers down, and then enter them.

It’s all counter-intuitive. I mean the pump stores the data which can be downloaded. Right?

Well, yes and no.

You see I’m a Mac and diabetes is a PC* and it drives me C-R-A-Z-Y!

Crazy, I tell you.

So this spring when I was perplexed yet again that Q’s A1c hadn’t budged despite what I thought were much improved BG averages, I decided to go old school.

I returned to pen and paper.

For me I like to look at a week or two at a time and be able to see the numbers by time of day. I need to visually see it so that I can process it mentally.

I grabbed a fresh frog log, but didn’t quite like that it was small and that I had a couple more bits of information that I wanted to track including which day I changed her pump and where it was placed (I’m tackling post-pump change highs and think I have it mostly solved), if she had any activity such as swim lessons (swim can mess with her BG’s, but I think we’ve figured out that one too), and if we make any changes to basal rates or insulin to carb ratios.

I purchased an inexpensive clip board to hold the sheets. It sits on the kitchen counter with a pen. At bedtime, the clipboard, pen, and PDM are carried to the upstairs bathroom counter so that my husband and I can write down any overnight BG checks. In the morning it comes back down. Every day I make sure all the info is there. Not every square gets filled. And the sheet is easy to fax to the endo’s office.

For right now, this system is working.

Do you keep an old school paper log? Do you download from your meter or pump?

If you are interested in using the log sheet that I am currently using, you can download it here: D-Mom Blog 2 Week Log Sheet I’m sure I’ll tweak it, but it seems to be working for me right now.

*The OmniPod PDM contains an Abbott FreeStyle blood glucose meter. The Abbott CoPilot software is not Mac-compatible and I hear that people running some recent versions of Windows on a PC even have problems. Abbott needs to step up to the plate and Insulet needs to demand better of Abbott on behalf of it’s many patients who are Mac users.

Further Reading

Post Pump Change Highs

Post Pump Change Highs (Part 2)

Post Pump Change Highs (Part 3 – Coming Soon!)

Posts about swimming

Posts about A1c’s

{Diabetes Management} Going Old School is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

CES in Las Vegas each January marks the launch of lots of new tech products. One company, Withings, announced a blood pressure cuff that plugs into your iPhone.

Says Withings co-founder Cédric Hutchings: “Apple revolutionized the world of smartphones by making them more user-friendly than ever before. By adding connectivity to high-tech devices, we simplify their usage and enrich them with extra services. Our goal is to take the drama out of using devices that can promote healthier lifestyles for all.”

Wouldn’t that be nice to “take the drama out of using devices (such as blood glucose meters) that can promote healthier lifestyles?”

Today I was once again online pricing PC’s. Do I need to buy a new computer?

No. I am perfectly happy with my iMac and Macbook. But as we all know, I’m a Mac and diabetes is a PC.

I have so many other things to spend my money (that I don’t have) on.

But the insulin pump and blood glucose meter we use are not Mac-compatible and I really want to download our data. Really.

Seriously, Abbott and OmniPod. I’m literally tired of logging by hand and then entering page after page of numbers bleary-eyed into Excel to fax to our endo’s office.

I want graphs that might show me patterns.

And I don’t really want to switch the type of insulin pump or blood glucose meter we use.

You are being short-sighted.

So my question is: Why do we keep seeing innovation and Mac-integration and products being brought to market in every area except diabetes?

What do we want?

Mac-compatibility!

When do we want it?

Now!

Further Reading

iBG Star: Marrying iPhones and Meters

I’m a Mac, Diabetes is a PC

Another iPhone Compatible Gadget, Just Not a Blood Glucose Meter is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

You know I am on a quest to simplify diabetes data management for our family. What does this mean? I want to be able to plug our glucose meter and insulin pump directly into my Mac and download data. As I’ve said before: I’m a Mac, Diabetes is a PC.

I recently told you that WaveSense is coming out with a Direct Connect Cable which will allow you to plug your Jazz meter into your iPhone, download data, and even e-mail it to your care team. (As of this writing the cable is not yet available.)

It’s a start. Seeming how we are a two iPhone (plus Touch, iMac, and Macbook) family, anything that connects to one of these peaks my interest. Now if only the meter and insulin pump that we already use and like would connect!

Sanofi-Aventis, maker of the WaveSense line, announced this week a new product that has me even more jazzed than the Jazz: the iBGStar blood glucose meter.

From the iBGStar Press Release: “BGStar® and iBGStar™ have been designed by listening to the needs and desires of people with diabetes. Both products aim to integrate convenient, accurate and easy-to-use blood glucose management with decision-making support in everyday lives of people with diabetes. The ultra-compact iBGStar™ can be plugged into an iPhone® or iPod touch® and displays results on a full-color, touch screen. It can also be used separately for on-the-go testing. The specially-designed and simple iBGStar™ Diabetes Manager App will allow data to be easily managed and communicated to healthcare professionals.”

From what I have read in the press release and on their website, the tiny meter can work by itself or when plugged into an iPhone, there will be a iBGStar™ Diabetes Manager App, and cases that integrate the iPhone and meter into one will be available (maybe initially for free and then later for sale).

The orientation of the test strip in the stand alone meter looks a little ackward to me, but makes perfect sense when it’s connected to the iPhone.

I can’t wait to get my hands (and my daughter’s fingertips) on the iBGStar meter and give it a try. Of course after the FDA approval comes through and it hits the market.

You can read a more detailed description on Diabetes Mine.

More blood glucose meter reviews.

iBGStar: Marrying iPhones and Meters is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

You know I am on a quest to simplify diabetes data management for our family. What does this mean? I want to be able to plug our glucose meter and insulin pump directly into my Mac and download data. As I’ve said before: I’m a Mac, Diabetes is a PC.

So this may not be a complete solution, but it’s a step in the right direction: WaveSense is coming out with a Direct Connect Cable which will allow you to plug your Jazz meter into your iPhone, download data, and even e-mail it to your care team. (Though our endo’s office only allows faxes.)

I have never used the Jazz meter. I downloaded the Wavesense iPhone app to take a look, but haven’t used it because it would be another step to enter in numbers by hand. But I am very curious to get my hands on a Jazz meter and Direct Connect Cable when it’s released and give it a try.

Go to the WaveSense site for more information. You can also sign up for an e-mail alert when the release the cable.

WaveSense For Your iPhone is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

This is the first in a series of posts called “I’m a Mac, Diabetes is a PC” about managing data and compatibility of medical equipment such as blood glucose meters, insulin pumps, and continuous glucose monitors with computing platforms Windows and Mac OSX.

Image: Apple Website

Our endocrinologist says in awe while she looks at my Excel spreadsheet with row after row of numbers “Do you enter this all in by hand?”

Followed by, “Doesn’t your pump allow for download?”

Uh, yes, and yes.

Both our pump and our meter are capable of downloading to a PC, but we are a Mac family. We are contemplating buying a cheap laptop that runs Windows just to download the data. (And trust me, there are other things I’d rather spend my money on.)

Over and over I question the medical companies who continue to produce pumps and meters that are only PC-compatible. I think it is short-sighted. Especially in this day and age when almost every household has an iPod and/or iPhone. And Macs continue to have a track record of being quality computers. (A five-year-old PC is outdated; a five-year-old Mac is still a good Mac.)

The only Mac-compatible glucose meter that I am aware of is the Bayer Contour USB.

I want to know what you do. Please take the poll and you can also leave a comment below sharing if you have any tips and tricks for managing data or wish there was a better way.

Check as many answers as apply to you. Thanks!

I’m a Mac, Diabetes is a PC is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.